A review of Birmingham’s fixed-camera CCTV network is underway. It's proposed that 53 cameras will be decommissioned from the 276-camera network.

Currently the cameras cost Birmingham City Council £966,000 annually. The proposed changes would reduce that to £780,500 from 2014/15 onwards.

The council has concluded 53 could be decommissioned with limited impact upon the integrity of the overall scheme. The details of those cameras will be made public in the upcoming Cabinet report, due for publication early next month.

Cllr James McKay said: “CCTV cameras are a vital tool, helping councils and the police to fight crime.

“The Government has raised the bar over when and where CCTV can be used, so we have got to take that into account when reviewing our network of cameras.

"Also, taxpayers shouldn’t be paying for cameras that don’t help in the fight against crime."

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From day one of our budget consultation we’ve been open and honest about the appalling financial constraints being imposed on the Council and I think that people are generally understanding about the position we’ve been put in.

I'm grateful to the people of Nottinghamshire for their incredible response to our consultation. The message that came back loud and clear was that we should do everything we can to protect services to vulnerable people. The proposed changes reflect those views, albeit within the overall constraints we are working under.

Speaking about claims the West Midlands Fire Service are cutting firefighter jobs and taking fire engines off the road, Paul Cockburn, FBU brigade secretary said:

"The public rightly expect an efficient and effective fire and rescue service to be able to deal with a multitude of emergencies.

"The West Midlands fire service have committed themselves to keep the current 38 fire stations open. The public may be relieved to hear that and reassured when they see the lights still on. But they must be made aware that behind the fire station doors, the service they receive is changing: fewer traditional fire engines, more small fire units with limited capacity, fewer firefighters, less capacity to cope with large incidents and less resilience."

"It is clear to the FBU that there is less and less scope with each passing day to make further cuts to the service. Any future reductions to funding, when added to those already identified, will mean a drastically different service for the West Midlands' public."